by Sarah Noffke
The recurring dream was always the same. The pack of wolves chased Liv, gaining on her. Safety was just up ahead. A house. Unlocked. All she had to do was get there. Throw the door shut behind her. This time the wolves wouldn’t catch her before she got to the house.
Every time the dream ended the same way. First the claws, then the teeth. The wolves always carried her away screaming, pain radiating from where their teeth bit into her leg. Always the same place. And then the dream ended, only to start up again later.
But this time, she was running faster. Getting ahead of them. This time, she wouldn’t lose.
The house was close. So close. She ran onto the porch, leaping over the steps.
Her hand was on the door handle when she looked back. The wolves had halted a few yards away, their teeth bared and their eyes narrowed.
Liv swung the door open and nearly bolted forward. However, she stopped herself. It wasn’t a house at all, but rather a bluff leading to a dangerous fall that ended in a rocky ocean.
Liv turned back to the wolves, and then, without hesitation, she jumped off the cliff, plummeting to what she feared was her death.
Shooting to a sitting position, Liv sucked in a loud gasp, her voice aching to be released. She clapped her hands to her chest, pressing against her heart, which had never beat so fast.
Clark’s head whipped up. He was sitting on the other side of the room, but rushed over at once, his eyes wide with shock. “You’re awake!”
There were a thousand things Liv wanted to say, and yet she had no voice. Every time she opened her mouth to speak, only ragged breath fell out.
“Here, drink this,” Clark said. “We’ve been trying to keep your reserves up as best we could with magic, but nothing replaces eating and drinking the old-fashioned way.”
Liv’s hands were shaking when she took the glass, nearly banging it into her teeth as she drank. She drained the entire glass, feeling like the cracks in her throat were mending already. “How…how…how long?”
Clark nodded, seeming to understand her question at once. His usually perfectly slicked back blond hair was a mess, falling over his forehead. His clothes were wrinkled, the sleeves of his button-up rolled to the elbow and covered in spots of blood. “Three days. It’s been three days since you called me.”
Liv looked around her tiny apartment, noticing potion bottles and other items that didn’t belong to her. Plato was curled up next to her leg, the one where she’d been bitten.
She managed to smile at the cat, whose eyes glistened back at her in quiet appreciation. On the table next to them was the canister of magic, the one that had saved her.
Liv swung her legs to the side, wanting to stand, but realizing at once that her body was too stiff to move quickly.
“Hey, take it easy,” Clark warned. “I’ll call Hester to have a look at you.”
“Hester?” Liv asked.
A dark shadow fell across Clark’s face. “I didn’t have a choice. When I found you, I didn’t know who else to call. She’s the best healer the House has.”
“But she’s a Councilor,” Liv argued, her stomach aching with hunger all of a sudden.
Clark stood, pulling his phone from his pocket. “I think she can be trusted. Anyway, I didn’t give her any information, and she didn’t ask. She just worked to fix you, and it appears that against the odds, she succeeded.” He held the phone to his ear, walking toward the door. “It won’t take her long to get here, but don’t try to get up. I’ll be right back.”
Clark whispered into the phone as he paced to the door.
Liv looked down at Plato, letting out a weighty sigh. “So we survived.”
He pressed his head into her arm, affectionately rubbing the side of his face against her fingers as she petted him. “Because of your quick thinking. Thank you for saving me.”
Liv smiled easily. “I was just returning the favor. You’ve saved me loads of times.”
Clark returned a moment later, looking Liv over like he thought she might have changed in the minute since he’d left her. “She’ll be here soon. How do you feel?”
“Like I’ve been asleep for three days and need a steak dinner,” Liv answered.
Clark laughed, and it seemed to melt away some of the stress around his eyes. “Yeah, I second that. A steak would be perfect right now.”
“Have you been here ever since you found me?” Liv asked.
He nodded, looking down at his messy clothes.
“What does the House think?”
“Don’t worry,” Clark said, waving off her concern. “I told them I had other business, and they think you’re away working on your case. I never take a day off, so it wasn’t disputed.”
“Yeah, but that’s just the thing,” Liv argued. “You never take a day off. Don’t you think that will draw suspicion?”
Clark lowered his chin, exhaustion evident in his movements. “Liv, I thought you were going to die. I didn’t really care what the House thought.” When he looked at her, the pain he was usually so good at hiding was written plainly on his face.
“I’m sorry. You must have been worried. If something happened to me, the Beaufonts would lose their place—”
Clark shook his head, new conviction in his eyes. “No, you don’t get it. This has never been about us keeping our place in the House, Liv. This is about us. We’ve lost so much. Mom and Dad. Ian and Reese. I can’t lose you. The House is second in my priorities. Family is what matters now.”
Tears ached in Liv’s dry throat, begging to be released. She managed a smile as a single tear rolled down her cheek. “Familia est sempiternum.”
Clark’s eyes fell to the canister. He pointed, obviously trying to break the tension. “You got back the stolen canister of magic. That’s something.”
Liv couldn’t stop herself from laughing, which made her think she might pass out. She lifted the glass in Clark’s direction, silently asking for more.
“Actually, I brought back that one by mistake. Recovering all of the canisters would take several trips,” Liv said, telling Clark the whole story as he refilled her glass with water.
“I don’t understand,” Clark said, taking a seat in the chair next to her. “What are they doing there? Why would someone store magic like that and use a lophos to protect it?”
Liv drained the glass, feeling her strength returning. “I don’t know, but we definitely have more investigating to do. When I’m back to normal, I’ve got to check out the wall with the symbols in the library.”
Clark agreed with a nod. “Yes, the ring. It sounds like it will explain a lot.”
“I plan to learn the ancient language. I believe it holds the key to this mystery.” They both looked up, having the same epiphany.
“Key,” Clark said in a hushed voice.
“Do you think that was what Reese was referring to when she said, ‘Olivia has the key?’” Liv asked.
Clark nodded, running his hands over his stubbly cheeks. “Yes, and you said Ian left the ring for you. If you’re right and it opens something in the library, well, we need to check it out.”
Liv tried to stand again but was met with defeat, her legs too weak to support her. Clark darted forward, catching her and helping her back down.
“But for now, you need to rest. The ring and the wall can wait,” he told her sternly. “You need to recover.”
Reluctantly, Liv agreed, pushing back on the sofa. “Yes, and we don’t know what the other part of Reese’s message means, about you having the heart.”
“I’ll figure it—”
The front door opening cut off Clark’s words.
Hester was a strange sight as she strode into Liv’s apartment, her traveling cloak partially covering her spikey gray hair. She smiled sincerely at Liv when she laid her eyes on her. “Well, I haven’t seen such a wonderful sight in a long time. It is nice to see you awake.”
Liv looked down at her bandaged leg. “Thank you for healing me. I can explain—”
&n
bsp; Hester hurried over, gesturing for Liv to put her leg back up. “Let me have a look, and then maybe you can explain. Or maybe you shouldn’t.” She tilted her chin down, looking at Liv over her half-moon spectacles. “I mean, the Council doesn’t need to know everything. A girl is entitled to have a private life.”
Liv smiled, putting her legs back on the sofa.
“And I might have healed the surface wounds, but if you awoke from the lophos bite, it was due to sheer determination on your part,” Hester continued, unbandaging her leg. “Sometimes the most amazing things in life have nothing to do with magic.”
Liv wasn’t ready for the disgusting sight of her leg when the bandages were removed. Two large black puncture wounds covered the side of her calf, red spider-like veins fanning out from them.
“Well, this looks much better,” Hester said, a smile springing to her face.
“This looks better?” Liv asked with a laugh, grimacing at her leg.
“You should have seen it to begin with,” Clark said, looking over Hester’s shoulder at the wound. “Your leg was covered in blood. I didn’t even know it was a bite until I called Hester.”
Nausea hit Liv’s stomach. She remembered falling through the portal and looking down at her leg and thinking it was the end. It appeared that she had been given another chance. A chance to solve the mystery of the House of Seven and bring the justice her parents fought for, and to be a part of the family she didn’t think she wanted for so long.
The tender knot has risen in Liv’s throat again, making her fear more tears would spill from her eyes. “Will the scar fade?” Liv asked Hester in an attempt to cover her emotion.
The healer ran her hand over Liv’s leg, her fingers vibrating but not touching. She opened her hazel eyes and gave Liv a thoughtful look. “I can’t say. Bites have their own way of healing, and it is usually unique to the person it happens to. But I do think you’ll make a full recovery.”
“That’s great,” Liv said, taking a deep breath and feeling some of the weight evaporating.
“I’m truly happy to tell you that,” Hester said. “Bites aren’t my specialty. Between you and Stefan, my healing abilities have really been challenged lately.”
“Stefan?” Liv asked, surprised to hear the name. “He was bitten? By a snake?”
Hester’s expression gave away her mistake. “Oh, no. And it was nothing. I shouldn’t have said anything. My apologies. Spending this time here with you and your brother away from the House of Seven has brought down my walls.” The healer stood, giving Liv a sudden serious look. “But at the House, we should remember our places and act as prescribed. I think that is for the best. Don’t you?”
Clark stepped forward, nodding. “I agree. And I’m hoping that you won’t make the same slip about Liv and me in anyone else’s company?”
Hester thought for a moment. “Yes, I think it would be best if we all forgot about this. I’m not sure what you were up to when you were bitten, Liv, but I urge you to be careful in the future. Things in the House are shifting, and I daresay you might be the cause of it. Whatever the case, I trust the Beaufont family. I can’t say that about many in the House.”
Relief filled Clark’s face. “We trust you, and Trudy too. Thank you for your discretion.”
Hester’s gaze drifted to the canister of magic sitting on the table. “I believe we have a rough road ahead of us at the House. There are those who are good, those who are bad, and those who are in a gray zone. That’s how life works, though. Many of us at the House are afraid of what will come if we fight back and afraid what will happen if we don’t. I’m not happy to say that’s created cowards of many of us, and yet, I believe our hearts are in the right place. What we need is someone to reset the balance. That was the goal of the House of Seven all along, wasn’t it?”
“Yes,” Liv said, her pulse echoing the excitement building in her chest. “That’s what we’re—”
Hester held up her hand, cutting Liv off. “I believe the less I know, the better. I am a Councilor, after all, and our job is to be objective. Yours as a Warrior is to have courage, and I think you’ve exemplified that through all.” She looked around as if she might be forgetting something, then nodded in the direction of the door. “Yes, I think I’ll be taking my leave now. Goodbye, Liv.” Offering Clark a polite nod, she said, “I’ll be seeing you later, Clark.”
He escorted her to the door and returned a moment later with a small package wrapped in brown paper.
“What’s that?” Liv asked.
“It was on the doorstep. I just found it,” he said, hesitating when he was about to hand it to her.
“That’s Rory’s writing,” Liv stated, reading the inscription on the front.
To: Liv Beaufont
From: Rory Laurens
“Oh,” Clark replied, relinquishing the package to Liv. “I messaged him right after calling Hester to let him know you’d awoken. He was worried.” Clark grimaced a bit on the last sentence.
“That’s right, you met the giant,” she said with a laugh, untying the string holding the package together.
Clark gave her a look of surprise. “How do you know that?”
“When I was asleep, I was, well, sort of not,” Liv explained. “I could hear certain things. I was trapped in sleep, though, and unable to respond when I heard you talking and worrying.”
Liv stopped opening the package and looked up at her big brother. “So you made nice with the giant, did you?”
He sort of shrugged. “I could see he was worried about you. He came by when I’d sent word to John that you were too sick to make your shift, and he wouldn’t take ‘sod off’ for an answer.”
Liv laughed. “No, Rory is a bit of a mother goose, but don’t tell him I said that. Actually, you should. It will make that wrinkle between his eyebrows deeper.”
“Eyebrows plural?” Clark asked. “I only counted the one.”
Liv reached out to slap her brother’s arm, but he was fast enough to pull away in time. That wouldn’t last for much longer though. Not once her strength was back.
“Be nice. Rory is a good guy.”
“What did he send?” Clark pointed to the package.
Liv looked down at the package, but another question occurred to her. “John? Is he okay? Does he suspect anything?”
Clark gave her an uncertain look. “I’m not sure. I told him you were sick, but something tells me he won’t feel better until he sets his eyes on you.”
Liv nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure it’s been hard for him. And he’s been covering my shift. I should get down there—”
Clark shook his head, cutting her off again. “Rest. That’s what you’re going to do, and I’m going to tell John that you’re recovering. I’ll tell him to come up and see you when I leave, but keep that wound covered. We don’t need anyone asking questions.”
Liv agreed, continuing to open the package Rory had sent. The smell of cinnamon and cloves hit her as she unwrapped a loaf of spice bread. On top of it was a note, also in Rory’s handwriting:
When you’re better, come by. I have something that belongs to you.
Liv smiled, unwrapping the bread and breaking off a piece for Clark, offering it to him.
“The giant sent you bread?” he asked, eyeing the piece skeptically.
“Take it,” Liv implored. “You look like you haven’t eaten this whole time either. And yes, the giant is a great baker. Turning this down is a bad idea.”
Clark resigned his hesitation and took the bread, popping it in his mouth. His face transformed with surprise. “Hey, that’s pretty good.”
“Yeah, see? You can make things without magic,” Liv said, taking a bite and enjoying the rich flavors that exploded in her mouth.
“You know what? For the first time in a long time, I’m starting to see that you’re right. What Hester said was true. The best things in life have nothing to do with magic.”
Liv smiled, staring at her brother with a fondness she hadn’t f
elt in a long, long time. “Magic is a bonus. It should always be a bonus in an already wonderful and full life.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Walking was more difficult than Liv would have liked. She’d missed work for two more days, trying to regain her strength. The guilt kept her up after John messaged her, asking how she was doing. Clark had told him that she had an awful flu and it was better to stay away.
“What am I going to say when he asks why I’m limping?” Liv asked, pulling her pants over her bandage, careful to not open the wound back up. She still couldn’t look at it without feeling sick.
“Maybe he won’t notice,” Plato reasoned, watching from his perch on the side of the sofa.
Liv laughed, half-dragging her leg behind her as she trudged to the kitchen. “I think he’s going to notice.”
“Tell him that you were delirious while you had the flu and slipped and fell in your bathtub. You were going to call him for help, but you were naked and embarrassed,” Plato offered. “After an excuse like that, he won’t ask another question, especially if you add some details like that you pulled down the shower curtain in the process and have a nasty bruise on your a—”
“That’s enough,” Liv said, cutting the cat off. “And I’m done with telling him lies. It’s wrong. I may not know how to tell him the truth, but I don’t have to fill him full of lies.”
“Okay, then tell him you were bitten by a magical snake while trapped at the top of a monastery during a search for stolen magic. I think that will go over much better.”
“Good idea. But I’ll leave out the monastery part,” Liv said seriously. “John can’t stand churches, so that might derail the story.”
Plato laughed, something he didn’t do very often but had been doing more since they returned from the monastery. He also hadn’t left the apartment, which was unlike him. Usually he disappeared at least once every day, not giving any explanation for his absence and sometimes smelling of smoke or strange herbs.
Although the commute to work was only a few blocks, Liv knew that her leg couldn’t handle the exercise. Therefore, she created a portal to John’s shop, careful to place it in the back alley. She stepped through the shimmering blue and green archway, grateful that her magic had returned after she refilled her reserves.
